Heaven Sends and Heaven Takes
by phantominhell
Summary: HGSS. How does Hermione Granger end up as a waitress in bar in Chicago any why do the words you dissapoint me devaste her... more detailed summary inside. read and review
1. Chapter 1

**Heaven sends and Heaven takes**

This story takes place 6 years after the Final Battle with Voldemort. Harry Potter did kill the Dark Lord but there were many casualties. The casualties included Hermione Granger's fiancé and Harry Potter's closest friend, Ron Weasley. Harry didn't get over the loss of Ron and he and the Weasley put all the misery on Hermione. She couldn't take it and left the wizarding world, renouncing it by snapping her wand in half and burning it. She discovered that her parents, who had also been killed in the war, had left a large amount of debt which the government forced her to pay. She was left with little money and no home and she moved to Florence, Italy.

**Chapter 1- Can't Hold On**

Kera Cavallari rested her head on her hand, strands of reddish brown hair falling in front of her pale face. Memories still plagued her… memories of times before she changed her name and her appearance.

"Kera? Are you here mon amore?" A rich accented voice echoed through the cavernous house

"Yes, Stephen. I'm upstairs." She smiled as her tall, tan husband strolled into the room

They had been married a year. Today was their anniversary and he had said that he had a surprise for her. Her forehead creased in thought, trying to discover what he was planning.

She came out of her thoughts when she heard him laughing

"So… you obviously still haven't figured out what we are doing tonight."

"Well you haven't been exactly generous with your clues. What should I wear? How should I do my hair and why won't you tell me where you are taking me, love?"

"It is so much fun to watch you guess though. What you wear and how you do your hair is up entirely to you but I would suggest a nice evening gown and your diamonds." He winked at her "Hurry up- we are leaving in an hour."

She huffed in frustration "Thanks for the warning Stephen!" she shouted as she hurried out of the room

An hour later she stood ready to leave with Stephen. Her dress was simply cut but made of a luxurious gold silk. Her long hair pulled up with a few curly strands framing her face. Her makeup was minimal but classic and her lips pink and full and her cinnamon eyes sparkling.

She took Stephen's arm and they chatted lightly on the way to the restaurant and as they were seated. As she admired the classy restaurant she had the uneasy feeling of being watched. She tensed up and her old instincts took over, warning her to say little and reveal nothing about her attitude.

A dark man nodded at Stephen across the room and Stephen, after glancing at his wife and making a hurried explanation strolled over to talk to the man in a dark corner.

She stifled a gasp when a familiar looking man seated himself easily in her husband's vacant seat.

"My,my... if it isntMiss Granger, it has been a while." The man said in a cold voice

"Pardon me… I believe you have mistaken me for someone else sir. My name is Kera Cavallari and if you don't mind my husband will be back at any moment and I doubt he would be pleased to find a complete stranger sitting in his place."

"The problem is that I do mind and that you are Miss Granger. And I'm sure your _muggle _husband would perfectly understand when I explain that it is my job as the new Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to find suitable teachers for the posts. Which leads me to my next point- it is time to come home, you can't hide from us forever."

Kera stood up abruptly "Stop it! You horrible man! I don't know who the hell you are but I can have you arrested for harassment! MY husband is the Sir Stephen Cavallari and I don't think you want to discover what he is capable of doing to people who get on his bad side!"

"Stop making a scene Miss Granger and sit down!" the man hissed at her, grabbing her arm harshly

"STEPHEN!" she cried "Stephen – HELP!"

He was at her side in a moment pulling her away from the man into his own arms.

"What the hell do you think you are doing sir?"

"I was under the impression that I was having a conversation."

"My wife is not easily upset and you upsetting her, especially tonight, is something I will not have! You will leave and not bother us again!"

The man shot Stephen and the quivering woman in his arms a scathing look "I will do as I see fit." He spat before striding away and out of the restaurant

Stephen tilted her head up to his face and brushed the hair gently out of her eyes "Hush now, love. He is gone."

"I'm sorry Stephen… but I want to go home."

He sighed "Alright, let's go. But first I want to give you something…"

He pulled out a long skinny box from inside his coat pocket and handed it to her. She opened it and found herself looking at a beautiful Mikimoto pearl necklace with a heart outlined in diamonds hanging from it.

"OH! Stephen! It is beautiful! Put it on me please…" She kissed him softly after he fastened it around her slender, pale neck.

"It looks beautiful on you Kera."

"Thank you Stephen." She blushed as he unashamedly scrutinized her admiringly from head to toe. He nodded his head to her response.

"Yes. I think we should get home now… I have a wonderful surprise for you next." He smirked as he squeezed her hip to his own

She blushed again "I think I might have an idea as to what this surprise might be, Stephen."

He replied without removing his eyes from her body "Good. I was hoping you would catch on sometime. I guess they wouldn't call you 'the smartest witch of the age' without a good reason now would they?"

She gasped "What did you just say!"


	2. Because of You

sorry it took so long to update- thanks to the two ppl that reviewed!

Chapter 2- Because of you

"Don't pull that shit with me, _Kera._" His eyes snapping back up to her face from where they had been keeping close watch on her body

"What are you talking about Stephen? One minute you're so happy and the next your furious at me for some ridiculous reason…" she touched his arm softly "Look at me and explain what is going on."

"You are the witch! You should know what I am talking about!" they stopped walking directly in front of their car

"Stephen- I don't know what in the hell is your problem and I don't know where you get off calling me a witch… but it stops now." Her voice remained low but began to rise nearer the end of her sentence

His hand whirled out of nowhere catching the side of her face and knocking her back a few steps "You will NEVER speak to me like that again. I am your husband. You belong to me! Do not presume to order me to do anything ever again!" he glared at her standing her hand pressed against her bruised cheek "Get in the damn car- you are going home."

She complied collapsing onto the leather interior of the car. He slammed the door yelling at the driver to take her home. The car sped off but Stephen was already heading down the street, searching for some entertainment to take off some of the stress of the night.

A dark man stepped out of the shadows after watching Stephen Cavallari turn the corner. This was his fault- the dark man contemplated the memory of the young woman being brutally slapped by her husband.

_I set the spies on her. I had them tip off her husband. It is because of me he found out she is a witch. It is because of me she now has a bruise on her face. It is all because of me._

Severus Snape leaned against the stone wall his mind teeming with memories and terrible thoughts. But one came more repeatedly until it became a chant in his mind …

"_I have to get to her…. I must make it right… I have to get to her…. I must make it right… I have to get to her…. I must make it right… I have to get to her…. I must make it right… I have to get to her…. I must make it right…"_

With a swirl of his cloak he appeared on her doorstep and composed himself, arranging his face into the mask of cold, arrogant indifference that was his usual façade. He knocked on the door. It was opened by a pretty 20 year old woman, a tight uniform, with an infant girl on her hip.

"May I help you, sir?"

He mentally shook himself, tearing his eyes away from the attractive sight before him "Kera Cavallari? Is she home?"

"May I inquire as of you intent with my mistress?"

"NO, you may not. Is she here?"

The girl made to close the door in his face before spitting her words at him "If she was- I would turn you away because I would never subject my mistress to a lecherous old bastard such as yourself!" her eyes scanning him from top to bottom, taking in his greasy hair and the snarl fixed on his lips.

He gave her a mock bow and whispered in her ear before swirling away "If you didn't have your daughter with you right now… it would not be your mistress you should be worried for."

"Bastard." She slammed the door shut

He turned casting a quick spell to lead him to where Hermione might be at the time. He found himself pulled towards a small garden, completely hidden in the back area behind her mansion. She sat alone on the ground; her legs curled beside her hidden under the gold dress- now dirty with mud and leaves. Her hair undone and falling in a cascade down her back- her makeup smudged and eyes red from crying. But the side of her face was the worst… a large green and purple bruise covered her left cheek- bloody where her husbands ring had torn her skin.

He stepped into the clearing. "Why did you leave?" his voice still cold and harsh

She slowly raised her head and her eyes registered no surprise at his presence. "Because."

He took her face in his hand and twisted her head to look up at him "Answer me correctly."

Perhaps it was his voice or his attitude that sent her careening into the memories of her past that she had been blocking out for years.

_Flashes of green light flying around her- cries of the dying, cries of the tortured… the leering face of Lucius Malfoy as he dragged her into the forest. Her own terrified cries ringing in her ears as he brutally took her. It was his twisted, demented laughter echoing in her head. And it was his very words like poison in her veins. "Well... you disappoint me mudblood. By 18, I had figured you would have at least shagged Potter or Weasely by now… no- well so much the better for me. Virgins always scream so much louder." She screamed as he aimed his wand at her- barely registering the flash of red in front of her as the killing curse flew toward her. She did register the thud of a body and then another as yet another killing curse was sent, beside her and the feeling of being carried by someone running. _

Her eyes snapped open and she let out a blood curdling scream. "It was you. It was all because of you! RONALD WEASELY DIED FOR ME BECAUSE YOU FAILED! You were supposed to protect us. I remember it all now. Professor Dumbledore told me- he said you would die to protect me, Ron and Harry. You didn't. Ron did. You bastard!" she stood, her eyes flashing and power seemed to radiate from her. "Did you know that Harry won't speak to me? Did you know that the Weaselys won't speak to me? Did you know that they all blame me for his death? Did you ever think that I might not want to live a life like that? Did you ever think that I might just want to leave it all behind me? Why didn't you let it go? Why did you follow me?" tears were now coursing openly down her face

He stood there all the weight of the guilt crashing into him- wave upon wave.

"Goodbye." He turned with a swirl of his cloak and left the glade with the woman he sought to help, lying on the ground, broken and sobbing.

…later

Stephen laid her sleeping body gently on their bed, after he carefully tended to her bruise and removed her makeup. He laid a bouquet of roses on his pillow before he left the next morning as well as a note saying how sorry he was.

When she woke up, her eyes were slightly swollen and she was pale and weak. But all that she easily hid with makeup as well as the worst parts of her bruise. She read the note and carefully stored it in a drawer, leaving the flowers on her vanity. She pulled on jeans and flowing top and some flip flops, putting her long hair up into a ponytail and walked out the door. She wandered down the streets admiring the beautiful morning.

"Professor Snape? Would you please do my courtesy of not shadowing me and at least come out into the sunshine? I despise knowing you are right behind me but I can't see you."

Severus, slightly shocked however, did as she asked. "I am sorry for last night."

"As much as I appreciate the fact that you have never before appeared apologetic for anything in your life, Professor, the fact still remains that Ron is dead and that I am blamed and that because of you my _muggle_ husband now knows the existence of the wizarding world. Which, admittedly, I would never have told him about as I have renounced the wizarding world myself." She quipped at him, never once sparing him a glance

This was the Hermione Granger he knew, the smart know-it-all with an even smarter mouth. But instead of releasing a barrage of insults on her when he opened his mouth he instead found his lips on hers, as he breathed in her scent of ginger and vanilla. To his surprise she responded, slowly at first but then more passionately.

Suddenly, she pulled away and slapped him across the face. Then… she ran.


	3. got to get out of here

Please read and review- it helps so much!

Chapter 3- got to get out of here

She ran all the way back to her home. Tears in the corners of her eyes were refusing to fall. In the privacy of her room, she quickly packed her bags with some clothes and other things she couldn't leave behind. She wrote a goodbye letter to Stephen which detailed her sadness and explained her absence. Then she hurried from the house getting into her car and driving to the nearest airport.

Severus later went to her house and apparated into her room. Nothing was there except a small piece of paper on the dresser. He opened it slowly.

**_Stephen- I am sorry for what I am about to do but it can no longer be avoided. There is something in my life right now that I need to work out. Yes, I am leaving you. This last year has not been the happiest of either of our lives and we both know that. You should see a doctor about being bi-polar. You could get some medication and everything in your life would be so much better. I wanted to tell you that all year but you know why I didn't. Last night was just another example of what happens when you get out of control. I can't take the risk that you "will never do it again" because you have told me that too many times and what if next time you really hurt me. I can't take that chance right now. Carina is safe- trust me. I would never put my own daughter in danger. Thank you for loving her. Thank you for loving me. I hope and pray that you will find someone in your life that will be more fitting for you. Because as much fun and love as we had these past years- our last year together, out married year, showed me that we would never make it as a couple. I wish you the best of luck in your life, Stephen. Thank you for being such a great friend to me since I arrived in Italy._**

_**Sincerely, **_

_**Kera **_

_She is gone. She is gone and I don't know where. It took me years to find her here- can I find her now…. I have to try._

Severus buried his head in his hands. He didn't realize that she had a daughter- that was fast- and with that man… it was a pity. He wondered if it could have been the beautiful baby he had seen sitting on the hip of the maid the other night. He had to find her.

Hermione settled back into her seat, resting her head on the back of the chair. She was going to Dallas, Texas (it was some city in America apparently) She wanted to get as far away as she could and go somewhere that anyone looking for her wouldn't think to look. Dallas. Yes… she was sure no one could find her there.


	4. bensalem

Chapter 4- Bensalem

"Emerson Cockrum… she will see you now." A stuffy receptionist pointed a tall brunette girl through a door, long nails catching the light.

Emerson took a seat, arranging her flowing skirt carefully on the chair. She smiled nervously at the stern looking woman behind the desk.

"Hello- I am Emerson Cockrum. I am looking for a job- I heard you might have one for me or you might help me find a suitable one."

"Do you have any experience in any particular field?" the woman asked, voice bored and expression grim

"well… I used to help greet people at parties and in school I often organized things."

She looked up when she heard a snort "Honey- you wont find a job anywhere in this city without experience, a resume or recommendations! Once you get those things you can come back and talk to me but until then I don't want to see you." She ushered the girl from her office without even moving from her chair.

Emerson walked out of the building, harsh words stuck in her throat as she emerged into the crowded streets of downtown Dallas. She flipped her curls over her shoulder with a huff and stopped walking as she looked at the beauty parlor in front of her.

Making her mind up suddenly she entered the loud room.

"I would like to get a cut a color…. " she ran her eyes down the list posted on the wall "no- I want the works- nails, hair, makeup – everything."

"OF course! Let me see if we happen to have an opening today… lucky you- we do have an opening. In fact if you will take a seat right over there Jennifer will be with you in a moment."

Two hours later, Emerson Cockrum entered the streets with a new look entirely. Long, straight blond hair, eyes enhanced by green contacts, tips, and stunning makeup. She was a new person- hopefully unrecognizable as Kera Cavallari or Hermione Granger.


End file.
